Flying blind…

Words 67 · RF@80 Series.

Photo: King Crimson. August 10th. 2001. Community Theater, Berkeley, USA.

Sunday 29th. July’s gig in St. Petersburg: the journey was worthwhile for the restaurant alone. The venue was in the open, covered by a canopy, behind the restaurant. The heat was crippling and I popped 2 top strings at the soundcheck: this has never happened to me before. Hyper-hot. The show itself was characterised by subtle, seemingly-unobtrusive violations of the kind that irate commentators might easily complain: “If he doesn’t like the heat, he should get out of the kitchen!” I might say in response, “but I only pissed a little into your soup – you couldn’t have noticed the flavour!” But if the soup-sucker were an experienced sucker of soup, maybe they could have done.

Otherwise, a supportive audience and an appalling onstage sound. Mostly now I’m flying blind, trusting that at the front Paul is delivering the goods. Whether I like and/or dislike the show is substantially irrelevant: the point is to play, and allow the music to take place. I have guidelines on how to give my best to this unlikely venture, but they are not rules carved in stone. As performance conditions and conventions change, I continue to adapt my performance to them.

[Excerpt from RF’s King Crimson Touring Diary – July 21st. 2001]

---